Ninkasi Tricerahops Double IPA
In September of 2015, Ninkasi Brewing announced that they’d be shipping their products to the East Coast (VA, MD and DC) starting in October of that year. Having only enjoyed a collaboration that the company participated in — a Sierra Nevada Beer Camp offering — I was really looking forward to sampling their wares. It wasn’t until late November, however, that their products finally made it to shelves.
I purchased a pair of bottles that were available — a milk stout and this big, double IPA. Tricerahops is a big IPA with 8% ABV and 100 IBU and is brewed with a combination of Chinook, Cascade, Summit, Centennial and Palisade hop varieties. Perhaps I was expecting something different, or more, or something, but the beer didn’t quite live up to expectations.
For a double IPA, Tricerahop is rather tame. It’s a good beer with decent flavor and hop profile. As an introduction to the brewery, however, it didn’t really leave much of a lasting impact. Not every beer I purchase need to “wow” my tastebuds. That’s just being unrealistic, but of the many double IPAs I’ve had throughout the years, there are more flavorful and dynamic examples of the style available.